Magnetic igniter.



. o. E. DURYEA. .MA@1N-ETI@ IGNITBR. APPLICATION FILED snPT.14.19oe.

PATENTED- DEC. 3, 1907.

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PATENTED DEG. -3, 1907.

C; E. DURYEA. MAGNETIC IGNITER. V APPLIUATION FILED SEPT. 14,1906.

V:a SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Q/Vitnesoeo l citizen of the United ,States ofAmerica, and

' CHARLES E. DURYEA, OF READING, PENNSYLVANIA. j

MAGNETIC Iernrrnia.,

To all whom it may concern: I. Be it knownthat I, CHARLES E. DURYEA, a

resident of Reading, in the county of Berks and State of Pennsylvania,have`invented certain new and useful Improvements lin Magnetic lgniters,of which the following isa specification.

i My inventlon consists of anignitingdevice particularly adapted tointernalcombustion engines wherein the spark'for igniting the explosivecharge is produced by a magnetic igniter'or spark plug adapted .to thegas engine cylinder or cylinders and operatedwithout the use ofmechanical partsattached to they engine 'other than a device for making#and breaking the circuitat the proper time.

. 'The objects of this invention are to rovide a spark lug that willproduce a s ar ofv 'the-.make an break variety with mec anism embodiedin the plug itself so that by removv ing and exchanging plugs a good onemay be substituted for a laulty one and the neces- ;sity of repairing,replacing or adjusting the faulty one-at an inconvenientltime be avoidedto provide a means for varying the time i at which the-spark may occurwith reference to the piston movement by varying the time of m-akingandbreaking the electriccircut instead of varymg thev mechanical devlcescommonly used-,to produce the make and break spark; to insure theproduction of the spark absolutely at the proper time andwithoutrelation to the. rate of vibration of amT spring orvibratingcurrent breaker, as

f will be hereafterfexplained; to secure a large,

hot, lat spark with a minimum expenditure of electric current and with aminimum like-- lihood of loss of current by vfaultyinsulation or by thefouling of thel insulation; and other objects as will be set forthV inthis speciication. I accomplish these objects by means of the fdeviceshown yin the accompanying l drawings formingpart of this specificationIn plug. Fig. 2. is an .elevation partly in section showing duite fullythe construction of the plug. Fig. 3, is a ditailjbottom plan of the ondof vthe lug that projects to the engine cylinder. ig.4 is an enlargedsection on the lino 4-`-4 offFig. 2Q Figs. 5 and 6 show a nmdification.*Fiep 7 is a viewvsimilar to Fig.,2 showing a sll'ghtlymodified form.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views,

' Specification of lletters Patent. Applicant aieasepambe 14. 190s. sainNo. 334.675.

Patented' nec. a, 19o?.

` y The plug consists of a soft iron corea. and aV `soft iron, jacket barranged to form an iron clad magnet closed at one end, preferablybyscrewing ,the ycore into the threaded' end of the jacket by whicharrangement I secure ease of construction and the labilityto re-,move'the core and the parts it contains for Yins ection or repairs7without disturbing the jac et and thef parts vmounted upon it. xSee'Fig'. 2. The space 'between the core and file jacket is filled with abobbinor winding'iof magnet Wire which may beisulated in the customarymanner but is preferably insulated with something able toresistheat,such as amixture'of `Water glass and powdered lavafl preferably fit thisbobbin of Wire tightly into the jacket L and loosely upon the core,Which permits the core to be removed Without disturbing the Wires. l

. One end of ithe wire is grounded upon and attached'to the jacket bysoldering, riveting or other suitable means andthe other endy of thewireis attached to an insulated binding post c mounted upon the outer wallof `the jacket @provision being made for the passage of the Wirevthrough the' wall of the jacket b with ample insulation around it.

' The binding post c and asimilar one d have thin-metallic basesformed-like part'of a cylinder, which enables them to iitl around thejacket b.l They do not, hoWe`ver,n1eet'each other as will be seen inFig. 1 and they are i'nsulated from the jacket b by a ring surrounded oneach side by a layer'of vmica or similarmaterial. That .they may beheldin lace without screws liable to penetrate the jacket, and possiblyvcontact with the wire inside, another layer of insulating material islaid outside the flat bases of these posts and a Winding of' wire Pholds the bases and the.-

tWo layers of insulating material firmly in place; 'a simple,satisfactory and permanent astening. Of course, any other sui tablefastening may be used. On the insulated binding post d is pivoted anarmature e; This armature is held out of contact with the magnet by athin layer of suitable material or as we--have shown, by an insulatingmaterial like mica and when ,not

under the inuenceof magnetism, due' to a current passing through theWire of the mags net,.a spring f'lifts the armature lsome distance Yawayfrom the poles of the magnet. This armature e has a small hole throughits center through which passes a reciprocating spark electrode rod g.This ,electrode rodv is 40 of the magnet.

threaded for purposes of adjustment.

long and slim, of light weight, and provided at its outer end with ahead It against the under side of, which the armature contacts when notclosely drawn to the magnet. On

5 the upper side of this head, the springfbears very forcibly when thearmature isdown; but only slightly or not at all when the armature isup. A second spring h also bears lightly on this head, so as to insurethat the point of the electrode g remains down and in contact with its,complementary electrode 'L except when lifted and held out of contact bythe armature e under the action of thespring f. When the armature isdown nearly in contact with the magnet the magnetic pull (varyingsubstantially as the square of the distance) is quite strong, whichinsures a goed contact between the spark electrodes g' and i. 'Thisforcible pull also produces ashortfbend in the spring f over the head ofthe electrode g and insures that when the current through the magnet isbroke'nthe'ar-l mature is lifted quickly and forcibly l'which coming incontact with the head of the electrode rod g, strikes it a hammer blowandv knocks it out of contact with the electrode 'i ina mannercalculated to-produce a most satisfactory spark if a current is lflowingthrough the spark points at 1this time.

Neither spring oifers'much resistance to a rebound so both the armatureand the -e'lectrode rod rise above their normal positions thus producinga Wide gap after which they at once fall to their normal positions asdetermined by the springf, the armature remainsupport o, which isrovided near its upper'.

end with a metallic ange and is guided and held in position by micawashers surrounding the tubular portions on each side of the flange andclamped tightly in place by a.nut .p threaded into the upper end of thecore a. By this arrangement the insulating material is at aconsiderabledistance from the heat,

smoke, lubricating oi-l or similar causes of fouling likely to be foundin the explosion chamber and therefore seldom needs cleanin When it isnecessary, however,.to clean this insulation, the jacket may beunscrewed.

from the core Without disturbing the winding, the armature, theadjustment` ojthe'- springs or the-insulations of the binding post -andvby unscrewing the nut p, new irisula-f tions can be provided for thetubular support f o. The electrode rod g is of suchsmall iamleter and ofsuch great length" in the tubular Y suiplport o that almost no'. leakagetakes placer W e this construction revents clogging and l insures, ashas been etermined by usage,-

erases that the electrode rod g shall remain free to move and not belikely to stick or move with difficulty or in any tion of the device.

A .diagrammatic arrangement of the parts as arra ed for use is shown inFig. 2. battery indicated at 4 has one Wire grounded upon the engine.are carried to the ordinary spark coil here tofore described shown at 5and also to the circuit breaker shown at 6. This circuit closer consistsof an adjusting screw j and a -movable or elastic contact iece c mountedupon an insulating base 1, w ich is journaled to swi around the shaft m.This shaft inspecting t s diagram it will is closed, thence throu h the.coilof the inagthe core of the magnet and plug, thence to that when thearmature 4e is drawn down by the magnet a second circuit will' be.completed from the battery Ato the coil from the The action of the' lugis therefore as folof current through the coil 5 and lessens the thatavery slight amountof current will 5 while4 the mailt-)lr portion of thecurrent flowing through` t g t asv yt'o -insure' -a' large sparkwhen.the circuit comes brokefn; the magnet caes its holdfon The.

be seen'.t at, a current may vvass from thef batteryV to the circuitcloser w en the circuit -suice to` overcome the tension of the spring. if and maintain the circuit through the. coil way interfere with the ac-From theother pole 'wires carries t e cam or equivalent device n adaptednet to th'ejacket c f t e magnet, thence to 95 the engine and thencethrough the ground I' l wire to the battery. It' will alsov be evidentvi 1001 coil to the post d, from the ost through thev v y,s rings f and hto the electro e rod g, through 1 't to the electrode i, the core of theplug and j. the engine andthence back to the battery.

lows When the s aft m in the course oft-ff. its moyement orv because ofthe l'shifting of the 'circuit closer aroundl the shaft,'causes .thelcam n to complete the circuit-through l the magnet'of the plug bybrigingthe contact piece [7C into v'contact with the screw j, i themagnet -becomes saturated, attracts the i l armature.A e and closesl thecircuit through-"5` the electrode g. "This at once permitaa flow l flowthrough the magnet but since the mage L netic pull when the armature isclose' to the ,magnet, is very much greater than when at"V somedistance, itWill be readily understood j' sfcoil-.fully saturates it,so,

through this coil is broken.'-When in the frevolution lof the cra shaftm, thecam n) `Jac the, armature'e, vwhich Ais `then suddenly z thrownupward by the tension-of the spring y andstrikes the head of theelectrode rod g suitable intervals around the shaftim., so that' lthearniature e.

the entire strength of tl-ie battery to act on! closer.

a blow, knocking it out of contact with the electrode- -i.. andproducing a spark'. at'tlie points. Duringthe slight instant ot' timebetween the breaking of the circuit and the release oi the armature.e,-a perceptible period required by the niagnet to lose itssat-`Juration, although slight,-tlie entire current from the battery ispermitted to iiow through the coil 5, thus saturating it to Iits fullestbefoie its circuit is broken byV the release of This arrangementVsecures circuits are closed is determined,'of course' `h v therelativeresistances ot those circuits.

The coil 5 is usually wound with a coarse wire surrounding alongwre,-\\vhereas the magnet of the plug is wound with a muchv finer wire.surrounding a comparatively iuuch'sliorter core and of a shapeai-Llapted to give a strong -pull on the armature capable ot' producinga quick, powerful action, with aslight amount of current, lwhich quickand powertul pull permits the useol a stiff spring `fand insures a quickacting-device suitable for high speed engines.;

By the use of a circuit 'closer equipped with a number of breakingdevices arranged Yat thc cani rnJ may connect them in proper suc-`cession; by connecting each breaker separately to its respective lug andproper post, and by connecting tie coil 5 to the engines can be operatedas readily as the siiigle arrangement shown. In this event a sin-- glesourceof electricity and a single coil serves all the plugs. The circuitcloser 1s designed for and adapted to the number of c \"linders to beignited while the iplugs fare duplicates eacliof the other and cantherefore be interchanged or removed tor cleaning or repair withoutdisturbing the. others.

'l"he.electrode rod gis of such sin/all size and weight that it may bemade of material.

adapted to resist heat and corrosion due to the sparking, becausethecost of such slight amount of material is not excessive.' '.Bcing iight,it may be moved more rapidly than is the casewith most sparking devices,which adds to the speed ofy the plug. The spark- The ing pointorelectrodefi is likewise small and -can be made ot good'quality withoutmuch expense. This screw being adjustable, perinits the adjustment ofthe plug as the` points in contact wear away. By having the electrode iof substantially twice the diameter of the electrode rod g and slightly,eccentric thereto, turning the 4screw electrode 'i both varies Vthedistance between the points andbriiigs a new contact surface on the endof the screw electrode t against thel point ofthe electrode rod g, thusadding'to the lifel of these parts. The electrode rod g can be readilyremoved by loosening the binding post d in a self-evident 'mannen so asto release the'springs f and h sufiiciently to perniittheni tol be swungslightly to one side and'perniit the electrode rod g to bewithdrawn'from its support.' -In Figsjlv and 2 tlic mica or otherinsulating material has `not been lettered but has'been indicated by thesolid black used; l

. It willbe noted that the'insulation is far back from theopening intothel engine,- and said opening is sniallvand any oil or soot pass. ingthrough the opening can hardly reach the insulation. This soot maydeposit, how# over, on the walls of t-he opening until git finallytouches Atlieineedle and 'ii' this needle did not `inove they soot wouldmake a short circuit, but since the needle is'vnorinally in motion itconstantly breaks'loo's'e 'any parti-, cles of soot and prevents thiseiiec'tL This'i's considered of great importance.`

1n niy device a light current viindstlie spring fwithout tension and thearmature e is therefore readily drawn toward the 'magnet until theelectrode rod g'isbrought into contact withthe electrode i. Thespringfniust then be strained over the head'ioftlic'elctrederod 'g inord'er to permit furtliernioveinent Aofthe armature 4but silice 'thearmature is, at this tiine, so close'totheinagnen ev'en fa slightcurrent `will overcoinethis strain'and complete t-l'ic'travcl oi theariiiatuic. rThe value of this straining actionl is twoiold.

` i .The contact points are .forced together with proper post of alltheplugs,.niultip1e cylinder i great pressure, thus absolutelyinsuring-a contact between the sparking points in spite of s oot orscale, which contact 1s necessary to be able to `produce a spark andlsecond the. spring f being under great'te'nsion, quickly starts theniass of the armature away from the magnet and causes it to strike asharp hammer blow on the `electrode rod g while the rebound ofthe''electrode rod and armature above their normal position quiteperceptibly increases the length of the spark gap and fa-- cilitatesignition.

` Not only is itl desirablev that asui-table spark as large as possiblemay' be produced to starting,.but 'it-` is alst desirable that thisspark shall 4be as large as iossible when running. lVith devices in wiicli the. circuit is broken as soon as the magnetism reaches a givenstrength, it is uite evident that the size of the spark wil notappreciablyl increase with an increase in the'strength. of the currentbut that the increased. current simply saturatesy the magnet more.uickly up to the breaking oint instead di more strongly. With my evicea'current that is strong enough to ignite will, if the Wirings areproperly proportionate, be strong enough to act upon the armature e andclose the circuit through Athe coil 5, while, as in starting, the slowspeed of the motor will permit this weak lcurrent to have am le time to.fully saturate the coil before t e circuit is broken and thereforepermit the largest spark possible from the coil with the weak current.At higher speeds and with muchl which they work-.' At slow speeds andwith light current the'inagnet saturates slowly but becauseof the lowspeed; there is ample time to saturate the coil. Wit-li a large c urrentthe magnet saturates tothe strength .required more quickly, leaving agreater pro-l portion of the period of contact for the satul ration ofthe coil. On this account the length of contact at the circuitcloser 6need 'be very little greater with .this device than with a commonI makeand break device of the mechanical kind. x

While I prefer to employl` a reci rocating i pin for the production oftlie spar in con- -other mechanical 'arrangements may be used instead ofthis.

nection with'a magnet for closing the circuit through the coil, Vit isquite evident lthat While I -have shown in Fig. 2 the binding postsheld. in vposition andinsulated lwithout the, use of screws,y becausescrews passing through the binding posts from the' outside are likely tostrike the insulated Wire and do damage, I frequently use screws 10 of secial shape as seen inFigs. 5 and 6 having eads 11 inside fitted` to'slots12 cut in the inner Wall of the shell into which the screws sinkflush and thus do not interfere 'with the winding while the screw headbeing rectangular vin cross section as seen in Fig.l 6 prevents thescrew from turning When a nut 13-is a'plied on the outside. Fig 5. showsan, en arged section ofthe shell with I. theslot and screw hole.V The`nsulatioiil t *65. A.

alsofshown inFig. 5.

statue While I-have shown this device, as oper- `for the sparking'circuit because. a large spark is more effective than a small one as'vmost automobiliste know. I can, therefore, and frequently do, utilize asecond source of current introduced as shown'in Fig.. .7, the wire Sshown in Fig. A2 .being not usedin this instance. This additional sourceof current is indicated by the letter rw in said Fig. 7. With thisarrangement, it will be readily seen that when the circuit closer closesthe magnet circuit, themagnet closes the sparking circuit and that eachis absolutely indef pendent ofthe other.

What I claim as new is zv 1. In a magnetic igniter, a circuit breakermechanism consisting of a reciprocating pin,

.an electrode carried at one end thereof, an adjustable coactingelectrode, an armature contacting said pin intermittently, a springengaging said armature to Mmove 1t in one direction, anindependentspring of less power mounted on the same support as thefirstnamed s ring and acting on said pin, and an insulate binding post.:

. 2.V In a magnetic igniter, multiple electric v paths and suitablemechanism embodying a movable part to carry the ignition current,.alight spring7 a heavy spring arranged to forcibly and elasticallyclosethe ignition'circuit under the pull of an armature, but normallyfree, and an armature arranged: to impart a strong pull against theheavy sprin 3. In a magnetic igniter, multip e circuit paths, one aninsulated path for an ignitingv current normally broken, and'mea'ns forclosingvsaid path consisting of a`n electric magnet, a movable part tocarry the ignition current, a light spring acting on said part, a heavyspring normally free but arranged to forcibly and elastically close theinsulated path when attracted by the magnet coil through the medium ofan armature, and an armature arranged to impart a strong pull r againstthe heavy s ring.

4. In an igniting evice, two electric paths and suitable means embodyinga movable part, a light spring acting thereon, a heavy sprin normallyfree but arrangedto forcibly ande astically close Athe circuit under thepull of an armature, and an armature arranged to impart a strong pullagainst the heavy sprin? ',5. n -an igniting device, a reciprocatingcircuit breaking rod carrying an F electrode and supported by andcarried in an insulated bushing or support, a light spring acting onsaid rd a hea spring normally free but arranged to forci ly andelastically close the circuit Vunder the pull of an armature, and anarmature arranged to impart a strong pull against heavy `spring.

6. In combination with a magnetic igniter, a source of electric current,two electric circuits through the igniter and meansembodying a movablepart to carry the ignition current, a light spring acting thereon, aheavy spring arranged toforcibly and elastically close the ignitioncircuit, and cooperating means, whereby said ignition circuit is madeand broken upon the closing ofthe other circuit. v

7. In a magnetic igniter, a movablepart arranged to carry the ignitioncurrent, a light spring arranged to move said part into closedcircuitposition, a heavy spring normally free but arranged to forciblyand elastically close the circuit under the pull of an armature, anarmature arranged `to impart a strong pull .against the heavy spring, amagnet, and suitable binding posts. I

8. In a` magnetic ivniter, a moving sparking part, an insulated supporttherefor7 a removable core carrying said support, a light springarranged to set on said moving part,

anindependently movable heavy spring movable from the same center asthefirst# named spring and normally free but arranged to forcibly andelastically close'l the` circuit,

and means cooperating with said parts, as'

and fr thepurpose specified.

9. In an igniting device, multiple electric 'paths forming a magnet andan ignitioncircuit, electrodes one of which is movable,

means to close the magnet circuit and attract its armature, a normallyfree spring arranged to forcibly and elastically bring the elecennemisn. DURYEA.

Witnesses VE. A. RUTH, Lizzln hmm.

